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Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== Nine Steps to Make Your HOG Come Alive. In the last issue of this eNL I described the first four of nine steps
to help you make your HOG come alive: Step 5: Communicate and educate. Any time you are attempting to change anything in your organization you have to tell people more than they want to know and tell them more often than you think is wise. And oh yes, use every available media available to you when doing this. And be sure to make liberal use of charts and graphs. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. And if they don't understand it, no, they are not dumb; you have not explained it very well. And don't forget to make performance information public. Yes, both the good and the bad. Just exercise double caution to make sure that your information is accurate, especially any negative information. When the enthusiasm wanes, it's time for more communication. Encourage and reward team members for sharing best practices that contribute to the attainment of the HOG. You will also need to educate certain team members such as admin folks and other support personnel regarding how their efforts contribute to the attainment of the HOG in a very important, albeit indirect manner. Step 6: Walk your talk. You and the senior executive team need to passionately demonstrate your commitment to the HOG, by showing team members what you and the leadership team are doing to support the achievement of the HOG, and by talking about the heroes who have gone beyond the call of duty to contribute to the attainment of the HOG. Step 7: Get rid of roadblocks. Engage your team members in conversations regarding what stands in their way of achieving the HOG. You can do this when you are practicing management by walking around (MBWA), town hall meetings, have breakfast with the boss, and at any other time you engage your employees in conversation. Be sure to listen actively-this is something that's really tough to do-take notes, and most importantly take action. And then report back to your team members to let them know what you have done. And if you can't act on their recommendations, tell them that too, and the reasons why. While I'm talking about roadblocks also get rid of the procedures manual. Instead, give your team what Eric Rylberg, the former CEO of ISS-the Danish global service giant-calls "a license to act." Okay, you don't have to get rid of all of it. Keep what's required by law, but no more. Policies and procedures, are progress killers, and will get in the way of achieving the HOG. Step 8: Change the HOG as necessary. Unlike core values, which never change-otherwise they're not core values-you should be willing to modify the HOG. Let's say that the HOG was to open 500 new stores every year-which used to be Starbucks' goal. And you are running into a global recession; change it to become "the most recognized brand worldwide-on par with Coca Cola" which is what Starbucks is now working towards. Step 9: Celebrate More, and More Often Than You Think Is Wise. A big HOG needs a big HIR (Humongous Incredible Reward). Make sure that you celebrate incremental attainment of the HOG. HOGs, by their very nature, take a long time to achieve, and you need to continue to keep your team members fired up especially if you are unable to financially reward them for their contributions-as is the case in many government organizations. All human beings move themselves in the direction of pleasure, and move away from pain. (Sigmund Freud called that the Pleasure Principle.) So if you have trouble keeping your great team members engaged in the pursuit of the HOG ask yourself and them how much fun they are having doing it. Having fun is what this is all about. So do it up right and do it as often as possible! Do it in front of team members, and be sure that the rewards are proportionate to the achievements. If the energy wanes, it's time for more celebration, more pep rallies and more fun. Remember: "If it's fun, it gets done." So there you have it. Nine specific steps you need to take to focus
your team members so that they can achieve the sweet taste of progress,
and help you achieve dramatic improvements in performance and productivity. SOURCE: Based in part on "Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel and 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness," available at http://www.wolfrinke.com/squeakywheel.html. =================================================== May 13, 2010. San Francisco, CA. "Winning Management: Building a High Performance Workplace." Contact: Ginny Von der Schmidt, sanfran-IMS@pacbell.net. Sep. 14, 2010. Philadelphia, PA. "Increasing Your Personal Leadership Effectiveness." Contact: Joe Paesani, Philadelphia@ims-online.com NOTE: I have other "in-house" presentations scheduled in the U.S.A., Canada and Europe. Please let me know if you are interested to preview me or bring me into your organization at reduced expenses when I'm scheduled to be in your area. That way we can let you know when I'm coming your way! =================================================== =================================================== =================================================== |
